Portland, OR

  • Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist qualifies on pole at Portland International Raceway
  • Championship leader Alex Palou completes all-Honda front row
  • Andretti Global teammates Will Power and Marcus Ericsson lock out row two
  • Kyffin Simpson earns second-career Firestone Fast Six appearance
  • Honda transfers 10 cars to the Top 12 round of qualifying, from all five Honda-powered teams

It was a banner day for Honda at Portland International Raceway, with Felix Rosenqvist qualifying on pole and leading 10 Hondas in the Top 12 round of NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifications at the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.

This is the second pole position for the Meyer Shank Racing driver this season, following a P1 qualifying performance in April at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where he finished second. Rosenqvist has one win already this season—taking victory in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500, and will be looking to convert today’s pole position to another win.

Also this weekend at Portland, Felix Rosenqvist’s Indianapolis 500 winning engine made it to 2,000 miles run in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The durability of the motor reaching the 2k miles mark is rewarded by the series with a 50-point bonus for Honda in the manufacturers’ championship standings.

Lining up alongside the Swede is championship leader Alex Palou. Palou has won twice before at Portland and already has five wins this season as the Chip Ganassi Racing #10 Honda driver looks for his fifth championship in six years. Currently, the Spaniard holds an 83-point margin over second place in the points.

A pair of Andretti Global teammates locked out row two for Honda, with last year’s Portland winner Will Power qualifying third, just ahead of Marcus Ericsson.

Kyffin Simpson will line up sixth for Chip Ganassi Racing. With the second-youngest driver in the field making his first Firestone Fast Six appearance of the year and the second in his career.

Honda transferred 10 cars into the Top 12 round of qualifying, with all five Honda-powered teams represented. Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti Global was seventh, Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was eighth, Dale Coyne Racing’s pair of Dennis Hauger and Romain Grosjean were 10th and 11th respectively, and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon was 12th.

OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland Honda Qualifying Results

1st Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda
2nd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
3rd Will Power Andretti Global Honda
4th Marcus Ericsson Andretti Global Honda
6th Kyffin Simpson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
7th Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Global Honda
8th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
10th Dennis Hauger - R Dale Coyne Racing Honda
11th Romain Grosjean Dale Coyne Racing Honda
12th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
13th Louis Foster Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
21st Marcus Armstrong Meyer Shank Racing Honda
23rd Mick Schumacher - R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) qualified first: “Huge thanks to Honda and the Meyer Shank Racing team for their hard work to get me here. That was an interesting one. I think it was super tight in the first two segments, and I feel like I had to risk quite a lot but still not make mistakes. I was glad I got a clean lap there in the Fast Six. It seemed like maybe the others made a mistake because we had a bit of a gap. So, I was kind of surprised. But yeah, I had a great car out there. Huge thank you to the MSR team for working on it all weekend. I wouldn't say we started in a great spot, but they kept pushing all weekend and now we’re on pole!”

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) qualified second: “I’m never disappointed starting second. But it is disappointing that obviously we were that close and I can go back and know exactly where in the lap I lost that tiny amount of time. But, I’m happy with P2. We knew that it was going to be a tough qualifying and very tight up and down the field. We saw that there was going to be a lot of fast cars. So, just being in the fast six was already a good, good step. And being on the front row, a one-two for Honda, it’s great for tomorrow. So, I’m looking forward to tomorrow!”

David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “That was amazing! I’m so proud of all of our Honda-powered teams and drivers. Pole is amazing, 1-4 is amazing, 10 Hondas in the top 12 is amazing, and all five of our Honda teams making it into the Top 12 is even more amazing. It’s great to see our hard work pay off in speed today in qualifying, but also with durability with Felix’s Indy 500 winning engine making it the full 2,000 miles to give us the bonus points in the manufacturers’ championship. It’s a testament to the incredible jobs that everyone at HRC US and all of our teams do.”

Where to Watch the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland

  • Television coverage of Sunday’s OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland will air at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).

 

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